1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to user interfaces for searching and browsing and, more specifically, to user interfaces that are intended to operate on input-constrained devices and to provide relevant search results with a minimum of user interaction.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Discovery of desired content is not always simple as searching for a person, place or object and selecting the desired results. The user's intent may be deeper and broader, and retrieving the desired results might require more than merely providing more search terms. For example, a user may want to first discover a particular person, place, or entity, then browse through results in that context, and finally, make further refinements. In this case, the search system would need to be able to infer that the user is searching or browsing in a particular context, and serve content related to that context that satisfies the user's intent. A user progressively adding additional search terms may be misinterpreted as an attempt to intersect multiple interests rather than as a context based search. Some search engines have attempted to define specific grammars for users to specify a context search, but these grammars are often complex and idiosyncratic, and thus only experienced and advanced users can use them effectively. The expression and discovery of intent is further complicated by the possibility that a query may be entered using ambiguous keypad input (e.g., typed on a cellular phone using ambiguous keys).